# Pharaohs of Ancient Thebes: Rulers and Royal Women Source: https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs Language: en # Pharaohs Meet the rulers and royal women behind Luxor’s monuments. Start with Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and Amenhotep III at Luxor Temple and the Colossi of Memnon. At Karnak, compare work made for Seti I and Ramesses II; the Ramesseum belongs to Ramesses II. The other profiles introduce rulers and royal women whose monuments, images and disputed histories help connect the places you visit. Browse rulers by dynasty, in reign order. Open a profile for their monuments, the evidence and the questions historians still debate. ## 11th Dynasty 11th Dynasty ### [Mentuhotep II](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/mentuhotep-ii) Reign c.2055–2004 BCE The reunifier whose temple gave Deir el-Bahari an early royal landmark. In Luxor - [Temple of Hatshepsut](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/temple-of-hatshepsut) ## 12th Dynasty 12th Dynasty ### [Senusret I](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/senusret-i) Reign c.1965–1920 BCE The oldest building you can walk around at Karnak is his, and it was found inside a pylon. In Luxor - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) ## 18th Dynasty 18th Dynasty ### [Thutmose I](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/thutmose-i) Reign c.1504–1492 BCE The soldier king usually named as the first buried in the Valley of the Kings. In Luxor - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) 18th Dynasty ### [Thutmose III](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/thutmose-iii) Reign c.1479–1425 BCE Seventeen campaigns, and an empire that outlasted him by two hundred years. In Luxor - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) - [Temple of Hatshepsut](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/temple-of-hatshepsut) - [Medinet Habu](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/medinet-habu) 18th Dynasty ### [Hatshepsut](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/hatshepsut) Reign c.1473–1458 BCE A king who was a woman, and whose name was later cut out of her own walls. In Luxor - [Temple of Hatshepsut](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/temple-of-hatshepsut) - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Medinet Habu](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/medinet-habu) 18th Dynasty ### [Amenhotep III](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/amenhotep-iii) Reign c.1390–1352 BCE A king whose monumental building programme reshaped Thebes. In Luxor - [Luxor Temple](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-temple) - [Colossi of Memnon](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/colossi-of-memnon) - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Luxor Museum](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-museum) 18th Dynasty ### [Akhenaten](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/akhenaten) Reign c.1352–1336 BCE The king who shut the temples — and whose own buildings were used as rubble. In Luxor - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Luxor Museum](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-museum) 18th Dynasty ### [Tutankhamun](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/tutankhamun) Reign c.1336–1327 BCE A short reign, a remarkable burial and an extraordinary legacy for the study of ancient Egypt. In Luxor - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) - [Luxor Temple](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-temple) 18th Dynasty ### [Ay](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/ay) Reign c.1327–1323 BCE The courtier who outlived two kings and then wore the crown himself, briefly. In Luxor - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) 18th Dynasty ### [Horemheb](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/horemheb) Reign c.1323–1295 BCE The general who took the throne and set about deleting the four reigns before him. In Luxor - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Luxor Temple](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-temple) - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) - [Luxor Museum](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-museum) ## 19th Dynasty 19th Dynasty ### [Seti I](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/seti-i) Reign c.1294–1279 BCE A ruler whose finely worked reliefs reward a close look at Egyptian carving. In Luxor - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) 19th Dynasty ### [Ramesses II](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/ramesses-ii) Reign c.1279–1213 BCE Sixty-six years on the throne, and his name cut into everything within reach. In Luxor - [The Ramesseum](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/ramesseum) - [Luxor Temple](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-temple) - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Valley of the Queens](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens) - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) ## 20th Dynasty 20th Dynasty ### [Ramesses III](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/ramesses-iii) Reign c.1184–1153 BCE The king behind Medinet Habu, whose reign left records of both military ambition and economic strain. In Luxor - [Medinet Habu](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/medinet-habu) - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) - [Valley of the Queens](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens) ## Royal women beyond the throne These profiles belong alongside the pharaohs, with their own roles clearly identified. Royal women beyond the throne ### [Nefertari](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/nefertari) A royal woman remembered through an exceptionally rich painted tomb. In Luxor - [Valley of the Queens](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens) - [Luxor Temple](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-temple)